Parole Denied, Disgraced Political Guru Hank Morris Files Suit

Hank Morris, the imprisoned former political advisor to ex-Comptroller Alan Hevesi, is suing to challenge the state Parole Board denying an early release, claiming officials did not follow proper procedure or taken into account his model behavior as a prisoner.

Update: This isn’t the first time Morris has sued the state over his parole. He did so back in July 2012 as well.

In the lawsuit filed today in state Supreme Court, Morris’s lawyers insist that he poses no recidivism risk and that parole officials did not take into consideration new procedures for hearings that took effect in October 2011.

Morris, 57, was denied parole in November 2012, with the board citing at the time his “inability” to understand his state of mind at the time he took part in a massive pay-to-play pension fund scandal.

At the heart of the lawsuit is the Parole Board not following a change to procedure approved by the Legislature in 2011. The amendment to the parole law required the board to have written procedures when making parole decisions with the goal of streamlining the process.

But the written procedures were not in place at the time of Morris’s August 2012 hearing.

Morris, an inmate at Hudson Correctional Facility in Columbia County, began his four-year prison term in March 2011 after pleading guilty to providing access to the pension fund in exchange for lucrative fees. Investigators accused him of taking more than $19 million, which was ultimately paid back.

Hevesi, who resigned in 2006 from the comptroller post over an unrelated scandal, was released Dec. 12 from Mid-House Correctional Facility.

The lawsuit also points to Morris’ record of good behavior in prison and that he is unlikely to become a repeat offender.

“It is clear, therefore, that by conducting legally defective parole hearings, Respondents are attempting to block any judicial review of their actions, leading to the unlawful prolonged incarceration of a man who cannot rationally be said to pose any threat to society,” the complaint reads.